Moscow Court Finds Ex-World Chess Champion Kasparov Innocent

Garry Kasparov was detained outside a Moscow court during the reading of the verdict in the trial of three members of Pussy Riot, an all-female punk band, on Aug. 17. Photographer: Andrey Smirnov/AFP via GettyImages

Aug. 24 (Bloomberg) -- A Moscow court found Garry Kasparov,
a former world chess champion and a leader of Russia’s
Solidarity opposition group, innocent of alleged participation
in an unlawful rally, according to a statement published on
Kasparov’s website.

Kasparov was detained outside a Moscow court during the
reading of the verdict in the trial of three members of Pussy
Riot, an all-female punk band, on Aug. 17.

“It is hard to imagine a situation where a Russian court
finds a member of the opposition innocent,” Kasparov said in
the website statement.

A Moscow court on Aug. 17 found performers of the Pussy
Riot punk band guilty of hooliganism and inciting religious
hatred and sentenced the members to two years in prison for
performing a “punk prayer” urging the removal of President
Vladimir Putin in the country’s main Christian Orthodox
cathedral.

More than 50 people were detained outside the court during
the verdict announcement, the state news service RIA Novosti
reported.

‘Absurd’ Accusations

U.S. and European Union officials criticized the Pussy Riot
trial’s outcome as “disproportionate,” while pop stars such as
Madonna, Sting and Paul McCartney, whom Putin invited to the
Kremlin in 2003 before a Red Square concert, have backed the
band members.

“The accusations were absurd, this is a chess grandmaster
we’re talking about,” Lyudmila Alexeyeva, head of the Moscow
Helsinki Group, said by phone. “The Russian authorities
realized that after Pussy Riot they didn’t need another
scandalous trial.”

One of the police officers who detained Kasparov on Aug. 17
has accused the former chess champion of allegedly biting him
and has submitted a request for inquiry to Russia’s
Investigative Committee, RIA Novosti reported Aug. 20, citing
the Moscow police department’s press service.

Kasparov said he will file a lawsuit against the police
officers who detained and allegedly beat him on Aug. 17,
according to his website statement.

“Today’s decision shows that a Russian judge can act
independently from the government,” Dmitry Simes, president of
the Washington-based Center for the National Interest, said by
phone. “Many Russian judges and members of the political elite
realize that the presidential administration doesn’t want to go
too far and use repressive measures.”

Approval Ratings

Putin’s and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev’s approval
ratings slumped this month to the lowest levels since mass
protests erupted in December, when tens of thousands took to the
streets to denounce Putin and alleged fraud in parliamentary
elections. A crackdown on demonstrators has since ensued,
including embezzlement charges that could see protest leader
Alexey Navalny jailed for 10 years.

Putin, 59, who handed the presidency to Medvedev, 46, in
2008 after serving the constitutional maximum of two consecutive
terms, took back the reins from his protégé in May.